You Found Me
by Merteuil
Summary: It isn't everyday that you find out that your childhood nemesis is in love with you - "They weren't typical lovers. They weren't really friends when fell in love, but they still ended up together. Their love is perfect." AU. OC. 7th book ignored. Pairings
1. The Plot

**You Found Me  
**

A Harry Potter Tale

**Summary:** Hermione overhears part of a conversation that starts a revelation about a certain Slytherin. He's in love, but refuses to admit it because she might be in danger. Draco hears his friend trying to force him to open up to the one girl he can't, so he decides to exact some revenge with Hermione's help. OC. Pairings. AU.

**Disclaimer:** I am J.K. Rowling and I do own Harry Potter...and if you believe that, then I'm also having a love affair with Tom Felton and gave birth to Jensen Ackles' child. Hello, if I was J.K. then I wouldn't be on here.

**Author's Note:** OK. This is going to be a two or three part fiction. I'm not sure on that exactly, depends on how inspired I am. I've gone over this plot multiple times and changed it repeatedly. This is a new plot-line. There is an O.C. named Marianne Dantes (pronounced Don Tess). She isn't the main character, but she is a main character.

* * *

**1. The Plot**

**

* * *

**"_Everything I touch in this world turns to dust. Everything I love dies in my hands. Why would I want to tell her how much I care if all that will happen is watching her die? Why would I want to put myself through that? Why should she die because of me? I'm cursed, _He_ cursed me, and I won't have her suffer for it."_

"_Don't you think its her decision?"_

"_You're still working under the assumption that she feels the same way, Dantes. She doesn't. She hates me and that is the way its going to remain. Don't tell her, don't tell anybody. If this is the only thing I can do right in this world, then so be it. She won't be my fault."_

It had been a week since she overheard that conversation and she still couldn't get it out of her mind. She had never meant to over hear it, and she knew that it was meant to be a private conversation. Who had he been talking about? Why would it be his fault? Why would he presume to think anything would happen to the mysterious girl that held his heart? Before that discussion, she would have been the first person to assume that he didn't have a heart nor bore the abilities to have any sort of emotion towards another human being other than loathing.

Apparently the girl he has feelings for doesn't share them, although it seemed possible in Dantes' eyes. Unfortunately, one of the main things Hermione knew of Marianne Dantes was that the girl had a hard time believing the worst in people. Despite having the worst in this world done to her, Dantes saw the best in people. Hermione never assumed that it extended as far as Draco Malfoy, but it shouldn't have surprised her seeing as they had grown up together.

To think that Draco Malfoy was so in love with someone that he couldn't bear the thought of telling her because it would put her in harm's way had caused Hermione to re-evaluate everything that she knew of the blonde-haired Slytherin Prince. It spoke volumes of his character that she knew he had kept hidden. She was always the first one to say he wasn't completely evil, every time Harry or Ron accused him of being at the bottom of some insidious plot, but that didn't mean she believed him to be that good.

Analyzing, as she had done in the week that followed, had caused her to see every kind action he had done throughout their school days. She didn't like that she had misjudged him, based solely on his treatment of her and her friends. She prided herself on her ability to see people for what they truly were and he had been the one person she overlooked.

Her mind searched her memories of Draco Malfoy, finding things she hadn't even thought about at the time. In second year, he had been in the hospital wing when everyone had woken up from being Petrified. In third, he helped up a first year who had fallen into the disappearing step on the one of the staircases. In fourth year, he had given her a smile and a nod at the Yule Ball. In fifth, he had whispered something to Goyle about the 'weapon' which she had overheard and gotten the idea to lead Umbridge to Grawp. And last year he had been so distraught about the prospect of killing Dumbledore that he had even cried over it, then couldn't do it, sparing the professor's life and sought asylum from the Order.

She knew that he had gone with them on the raids over the summer and watched his mother and father get brutally murdered by Voldemort. She had seen the turmoil it put him through while they stayed at Grimauld Place together. He had kept to himself unless it was necessary to be around everyone and had endured all of Ronald's snide remarks with grace that only a true Aristocrat could have.

Hermione honestly didn't know why overhearing that small piece of information had caused her analysis, she had witnessed and experienced his changes first hand over the summer, yet thought nothing of them until now. He hadn't once called her 'mudblood' or 'bookworm' or any of the other nasty things that he had called her in the past since joining the Order. In fact, he barely took notice of her at all. Her or her friends and she was fairly certain that they all had been his favorite targets.

Now, she was worried for him. Her analysis drew up that he hadn't been the tyrant that they had all made him out to be, merely a victim of circumstance, and he needed a friend. But, it seemed, to her relief, that he had found confidence in Dantes.

* * *

Damn him! Damn Draco Malfoy! He _had_ to occupy her mind and muddle her feelings toward him! Why couldn't she have overheard some conversation about him plotting against Harry or Ron? Why couldn't he just be the bastard she always thought him to be?!

She closed her book with a slam, she hadn't read it anyway, and looked around her. She had been sitting in the library, trying to go some place where no one would ask her what was wrong. But, instead of studying, she only thought back to Malfoy. It wasn't fair, but it was frustrating that she hadn't seen it sooner. Hadn't her father always told her that she was a soul reader? She had always been able to see past facades and see what was hidden beneath them! Always!

Thinking of her father, though, brought on a new wave of emotion. He had been gone for two years now, the cancer had taken him faster than anyone would assume. She missed him every day, but was grateful when her mother had met someone new. She hadn't expected it, when she had introduced them over Christmas last year, but wasn't angry about it either. In these times, love was a rare gift and after all, Remus Lupin was the kindest and best of men. Even her father would have approved the choice.

Just before she came to school this term, they had announced they're engagement. They planned to marry when the war was over and her mother returned from Australia. Remus and Hermione had convinced her it was safest to be as far away from the crossfire as possible. She had reluctantly agreed, barring that both of them were as safe as possible.

Hermione glanced at her watch and decided that she needed to head up to the dormitories. It was eleven o'clock and she shouldn't have to worry about her newly confusing dorm-mate being awake to great her with his irritating indifference. Ever since getting Head Girl, she had felt more like she had her own dorm versus sharing it with the Head Boy. His silence had carried over from the summer, though now she didn't blame him – he had had a lot on his mind apparently.

She walked up to the dormitory with her books in her hand. She hoped that she didn't run into anymore disturbing information tonight as she walked level by level to the sixth floor. "Granger!" Someone shouted behind her and she turned to see Dantes coming up the stairs. Her long copper hair flowed behind her gracefully, her crystal blue eyes were tired, and she was panting as if she had chased Hermione through half the castle. "I'm glad I caught you."

"What's the matter?" Hermione asked curiously, looking at the seventeen year old Ravenclaw with wide eyes.

"Has Draco talked to you at all lately?" She asked, her breathy voice worried.

Hermione shook her head. "He never speaks to me unless we're in a Head meeting. Why?"

Marianne looked away in frustration. "He hasn't talked to anyone in since last Monday. Even Blaise hasn't gotten anything out of him," her voice shook as she spoke. "Will you see if he'll talk to you? We've all been so worried about him."

"What's wrong with him?"

She shrugged. "He just hasn't been the same since last year. After everything that happened, I just don't know how to help him."

"What makes you think he'll talk to me over you? He hates me." Hermione said honestly.

Marianne's eyes were unreadable. "I don't think he does, Hermione. He's a hard person to get to know. Please, just try. If he doesn't open up to someone, I'm afraid he'll hurt himself."

"Do you really think that Malfoy would do something like that?"

"Not intentionally." She amended. "But sometimes its the last person you would expect it from."

"I don't know, Marianne."

"Please, Hermione. If its not you, then it will have to be Potter or someone." She stated. "I doubt Potter would be very sympathetic to him, though he should understand better than most."

"Because he lost his parents?"

"Yes," Marianne agreed. "The only people that can truly relate to Draco right now are Potter and myself. He won't let me help and Potter won't. Hermione, Draco has been strong all our lives. He's the strongest person I know and he was broken down so hard the last few years that I'm not sure that he'll be able to build himself up again. He needs help."

* * *

She was late. He was pacing the length of the common room, debating on whether or not he should go find her. On weeknights, she usually arrived back at the dormitories at eleven, eleven-thirty at the latest, and now it was nearly midnight. She was _never_ late.

Different scenarios were playing out in his mind and it had him worried. He knew if nothing was wrong, then he would have to explain why he'd been looking for her, but if something was wrong, he would have to explain why he was saving her. Either way, he would need a proper explanation. She didn't even know that he sat up waiting for her every night to make sure she was safe, he was always sure to be in his room by the time she came in.

She hadn't been the same, the last few days, and it concerned him. She hadn't seemed the same after he came back last Monday from talking with Marianne. It was almost as if she had heard...but no, that was impossible. If she heard, then that would mean she would know, and she would have certainly confronted him about it by now. It isn't everyday that you find out that your childhood nemesis is in love with you and trying to keep you safe from the worst evil the world had ever known. He didn't want her to know. He didn't even want to know. And he didn't understand how in the hell Marianne knew.

Draco wasn't sure when exactly he first realized that he was in love with Hermione Granger. He did know that he felt a peculiar attachment to her the first time he saw her on the train before first year, when she was helping Longbottom looking for that damn toad. He knew he talked about her a lot over the summer and that's when his father forced the Malfoy 'guidelines' for him. Hermione Granger was a muggle-born, a Mudblood. She wasn't allowed to live, let alone be in the eye of a Pure Blood especially a Malfoy.

Second year he tried to separate himself from her as much as possible as to not anger Lucius. He started referring to her as a Mudblood, getting his friends to do so also (although Marianne and Blaise refused, neither of them cared about blood purity). It didn't help, no matter how big he talked about hating her and how he would relish the victory for Pure Bloods if Slytherin's beast killed her. It didn't stop him from spending all of his free time in the Hospital Wing with her while she was Petrified or from making sure that the Mandrake Potion worked.

He tried his best to come off as a nasty little shite for the last six years, but somehow, she seemed surprised every time he was cruel. When she slapped him in third year, he thought that he had finally gotten her away from him and his heart...then he saw her at the Yule Ball in fourth. On the arm of Viktor Krum, showing off her new smile that she had thanks to him, and looking like Aphrodite embodied. He could have killed Krum that night and he very nearly did. Especially when he kissed her, in the gardens, and Draco had seen.

In fifth, he knew he would have his work cut out for him with Umbridge teaching at school. His father insisted that he stayed on her good side, so he did whatever he could to do to become teacher's pet. When the Inquisitorial Squad was formed, he was the first to sign up. It satisfied his father, Umbridge, and it allowed him to protect Hermione from afar. He would give false leads as to where the insipid Dumbledore's Army were meeting, though he had been the one to suggest to Dobby that they meet in the Room of Requirement. Dobby had passed the information about the Room to Potter and then confirmed that they were meeting there to Draco. Dobby might have lost his loyalty to Lucius, but Draco had never done anything to harm him and even protected him as much as possible.

Last year had been the hardest. His task would endanger not only his life, but hers and her loved ones as well. In the end, he saw her face in his mind as he pointed his wand at Dumbledore and he couldn't do it. He begged for asylum. Snape had helped them, but he was forced to sever all ties with his family and take up residence at Grimauld Place. He was surrounded by her at every turn and all he could do was remain silent. He joined the Order the moment he could and began to help them with raids. It was the last raid to Malfoy Manor that he watched his father forced to kill his mother and then Wormtail, Wormtail of all people, kill his father.

* * *

Voldemort had thought of the least dignified way to kill his parents and leave them completely dishonored. It was then that he decided that she could never know. If she found out, _He_ would kill her. _He_ would make Draco watched as she suffered and was tortured, just for knowing his feelings. He didn't suffer from any delusions in his mind that she felt for him the way he did for her. No, he had been too convincing over the years for her to ever suspect. He preferred it that way. If it would spare her, he would never tell her.

Never.

A noise pricked his ears from outside of the portrait hole, two female voices outside the door. He leaned in and heard Marianne's voice, "_He needs help._"

"_If he will let me, if he'll even speak to me...and these are very big ifs, Marianne,_" Hermione's voice this time, her tone sullen. "_Then I'll do whatever I can. I honestly don't know what I can do for him that his best friends can't._"

"_He won't even look at us anymore, let alone tell us what's on his mind._" Bollocks! He had just gotten through talking about his feelings on things about an hour ago with the noisy witch. "_All I'm asking is for you to try. If it doesn't work, I'll try Potter or Thomas or someone._"

He walked away from the door and went into his bedroom. That conniving, evil little wretch! Why in the hell did the Sorting Hat put her in Ravenclaw? That right there was a Slytherin move if he'd ever seen one! He hadn't spoken to them or looked at them? He sat with Blaise every day at meals and spent the majority of his time talking to her! He knew what this was about – she was trying to force him to tell Hermione the truth. She was trying to set it up so that Hermione got to know him better, under the guise of helping him through whatever neurosis she had concocted for him!

_Well, two can play at that game, Dantes,_ he thought bitterly. If she was going to try to get him to open up to Hermione, then he was going to force her to speak to Potter! She had been harboring feelings for Scar-Head since the beginning of sixth year and refused to speak up about them. She kept saying that even if Potter was interested, he wouldn't be after he found out her situation in life. She said she had too much for even Harry Potter to handle. Well, if his beliefs about Hermione mattered so little to her, then he would show her just how little hers toward Potter mattered to him!

The only problem was how to get revenge on her? She clearly didn't have his current issues. Potter wasn't much of a brain and Marianne was the second witch in their year anyway, so he could ask Potter to tutor her. Marianne had quit Quidditch in fifth year, so no help there. Damn! Her excuses for him were so much more simple. Maybe Hermione could help? He could simply explain that Dantes had lied to her, but he wasn't going to let her get away with it...no, that wouldn't work. Hmm...how about giving Granger a toned down version of Marianne's love life and how he thinks that Potter would be an amazing match for her? That seemed the more likely option to work.

He heard the portrait close and he sighed. She was safe, back, and in one piece. He didn't have to go out to find her, and he didn't have to worry about one of _His_ spies getting her – at least, not until tomorrow. But, for now, she was safe. He could breathe now.

A soft knock came to his door and he walked over to it. Gently, so he didn't alarm her, he opened the door and looked into her confused chocolate eyes. "Yes?" He asked quietly. It had been the first time he had spoken to her in quite sometime and he could tell that he even spoke at all shocked her.

"I was wondering if we could talk." She stated simply, her voice low and unsure.

"About anything in particular or just small talk?" He questioned, he was slightly amused. "Its rather late."

She nodded. "It is. I didn't mean now, of course. Later though. Would that be possible?"

"You never answered the question." He said, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame.

She huffed in frustration. "Just anything. Anything that's been on your mind lately. Just talk, like civilized people. Like..."

"Friends?"

"Yes, like friends." She agreed, looking at him with pleading eyes, almost as if she expected the onslaught of insults at any moment. He really should give in to the eyes and slam the door in her face, but revenge on Marianne seemed too sweet a thought to ignore and he would definitely need Hermione's help in order to do it.

"Well, I suppose that would be fine." He decided. "Tomorrow though. After dinner, unless you plan to be out until nearly midnight again."

She shook her head with a glint of anger in her eyes. "No. And I hadn't planned on being out this late tonight. I was detained."

"Detained?" He asked, smirking at her.

"Yes, by one of your friends. Marianne Dantes."

He rolled his eyes. "Don't pretend you aren't friends with Marianne, Granger. Why else would you allow her to detain you?"

"Well, I suppose that you could call us friends, or at the very least acquaintances, but that is beyond the point. She wanted me to speak with you."

"I suspected as much." He looked at his watch and faked a yawn. "You can give me her story tomorrow, but for now, good-night." At this point, he should have definitely slammed the door, but instead he straightened his pose and moved out of the door frame.

"Good-night, Malfoy." She said, her eyes betraying her shock at his civility and he watched her walk away to her room across the common room from his. She gave him one last look, a simply bewildered look, before she shut the door.

_Until tomorrow, Hermione._

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_Attention: The first chapter of my Draco/Hermione fic! I've been planning this thing forever and I finally think I have a plot down that I can work with! Now, to make sure that I don't get sidetracked or get writer's block or anything! PLEASE REVIEW! I hope you like it! And PLEASE check out my Twilight re-write, **Blue Moon**, it's my baby and I love it! _

_REVIEW!  
_


	2. The Dream

**You Found Me**

_A Harry Potter Tale_

**Disclaimer: **I don't own it. If I did, I wouldn't be here...and things might be more like this!

**Last Time on **_You Found Me_**:** Hermione overhears a conversation between Draco and Marianne. Marianne asks Hermione a favor. Draco decides to teach Marianne a lesson.

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**2. The Dream **

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_It wasn't the first dream he had of her. No, it wasn't even the millionth. It wasn't even the first one of the school year. She was in every dream he had, good or bad. But, since he decided that it was best that he not speak to her unless it was necessary, she hadn't been this close in dream form. Or even waking form. He blamed it immediately on their conversation before bed._

_Not that he was complaining. He'd missed the conversations that they had dreams. And the less than innocent scenes in his very good dreams. But he hadn't missed the nightmares._

_This wasn't a nightmare. Far from it. She was just sitting beside him on the couch in the Head's Common Room, playing with his pale fingers with her honey colored ones. She had her long, curly hair tied back in a braid, with loose curls in her eyes. The beautiful chocolate rich orbs were transfixed on his hand. Her pink, doll-like lips were in a half smile form as she gently continued her game. She wore a white linen dress that he'd seen her wear once over the summer. Her long, toned legs were draped across his lap and he held them secure in his other hand._

_It was the closest they had been his dreams in the months since he joined the Order. It was closer than they would ever be in real life. That thought was overwhelmingly sad for him. He felt small smile he had worn slip away. He tried not to let the truth depress him in his waking life. In the years before, he had tried to conquer it by sleeping around. No matter who he was with though, he would compare them to her. In his dreams, he let the full weight of his broken heart take hold and this one was no different._

_She looked up at him, her playful demeanor replaced by her concern._

_"What is it, Draco?" She asked, softly._

_He sighed he gave her brief grin."Nothing, love." He reached out and tucked a curl behind her ear._

"_Please tell me." She pleaded._

"_I just –" He took in a breath. It was a dream, after all, he could tell her the truth. "I wish this was real."_

_She gave him a sympathetic smile. "So do I, love, so do I." She admitted. She scooted closer, letting herself sit on his lap and she draped her arms around his neck. "Maybe someday, you'll find someone who will be able to hold you like this." _

_He shook his head. "There will never be anyone else for me," he wrapped his own arms around her waist. "But you, Hermione." He allowed the fantasy to take hold and ignored the warning bells chimed in his head. He buried his head into her, breathing in her heavenly sense of honey and vanilla feeling peace for a short time. _

_"I thought you loved someone else." She whispered against his hair._

_"No. How could I? You are everything to me." He told her, lifting his head to look into her eyes. They were shocked, happy, and a little sad. "What is it, love?"_

_"I wish this were real." She sighed. He put his hand on her cheek and drew her down to his lips. He kissed gently, carefully. _

_When he pulled back, he whispered, "_Let me not the marriage of true minds admit impediments. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds or bends with the remover to remove. Oh no! It is an ever fixed mark that looks on Tempest is never shaken_."_

"_Shakespeare?" She asked, her voice shaking. "My favorite sonnet."_

"It is the star to every wandering bark, whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks within his bending sickle's compass come: love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but it bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never written or man ever loved_." He finished the recitation. It was his favorite sonnet as well. He carried around a book Shakespeare Sonnets everywhere he went, with a mark on 116. _

_Of course she would like the same poem, it was his dream. He kissed her again, relishing the moment it for as long as possible, but already he could feel the dream fading. Slipping away from him._

* * *

When he awoke, the sun was drifting gently through his emerald curtains. It was such a detailed, vivid dream immediately chastised himself for getting into it. What if his mind were penetrated with the image of her sitting on his lap, kissing him gently, running through his mind? With the full of press her lips on his – no! He had to block it from his mind.

He stood and pulled on a pair of black dress slacks. Hermione would be gone by now, as it was nearly 8 AM, and he could escape her beatific form for a few hours. Draco ran a brush through his hair, the top of his hair just above the ear, the rest cut short. Admittedly, he had overheard Hermione tell Ginny Weasley that she liked how it looked on men and he'd been sure to have his done that way immediately.

He didn't bother to button the white dress shirt he threw on or put on shoes before leaving his room. He didn't plan on leaving the dormitory until Hermione's father – well, soon to be stepfather, Lupin – brought him Potter's Invisibility Cloak. He was going to use the convenience of the Hogsmeade weekend to search the rooms in the Slytherin dormitory.

The moment Draco left his room, however, he wished that he dress more appropriately. Hermione sat on the couch in front of the fireplace, looking _exactly_ as she had in his dream. The white linen dress, her hair in a braid, and a gentle smile on her face as she read a book. When she heard his door shut, she turned and looked almost embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed and her smile was bashful.

Looking down at his state of undress, he groaned audibly.

"I didn't think you'd be here." He told her honestly.

She shrugged. "Harry and Ron sleep in on the weekends." She told him. He buttoned his shirt about halfway up and walked over to where she sat. "You left this on the table. I hope you don't mind." She said, showing the cover of the book she was reading. Shakespeare's Sonnets.

It was his copy. He began coughing and couldn't believe the sense of deja vu. He managed to croaked out, "It's fine. I didn't know you like Shakespeare."

"Oh. He's my favorite. His sonnets especially. Which is your favorite? You had 116 marked, but I wasn't sure –"

"It's my favorite." He told her. "Do you enjoy the plays?" He asked, trying to navigate the subject away from the fact that his favorite was one particularly about love.

"Yes. Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado about Nothing are my favorites. Full of romance and –"

"Forbidden love." He finished. "Most people love Romeo and Juliet, but why the other?" He questioned.

"Well, Hero and Claudio had all their misunderstandings, but in the end married. But, Beatrice and Benedick are my favorites."

"They fought through the majority of the play, though." Draco protested.

"That's the point. They weren't typical lovers. They weren't really friends when fell in love, but they still ended up together. Their love is perfect." She smiled.

"I had no idea you were such a romantic, Granger." Draco said in a playfully sarcastic tone.

She shrugged and gave him an enchanting smile. "I'm a girl. Romanticism is a specialty of my sex." She responded as though it were true.

"Not all girls are romantics, Granger. I also know you well enough to know that you don't fall for most of that nonsense." He stated, walking over to sit beside her on the couch. She shifted to where she was facing him on the couch and he couldn't help but feel that same sense of deja vu. He prayed that nothing else from the dream came true.

"I believe in love, I believe in its power. Do I believe in foolish love at first sight nonsense? No. Do I think that Claudio and Hero truly loved each other? Not at all." She answered honestly.

"Why not? They were far more in love than Beatrice and Benedick. They didn't bicker or squabble about petty things." He countered.

"No they weren't! Claudio just saw a pretty girl and wanted to make her his, but the moment someone, someone they knew was untrustworthy, said anything bad about her character, he was ready to kill her himself and didn't feel any pain when he thought she was dead. Not until he heard that she was innocent after all. That's not real love."

Draco sighed, enjoying their discussion more than he was willing to admit. She made valid points and he agreed with her completely, but he couldn't help but poke and prod at it. "He did think that he saw her in the act." He pushed.

"All he saw was a girl with the same hair color in a compromising position with a man who yelled out 'Hero', but he should have asked her himself. Or Beatrice. If he loved her, he'd would've defended her honor, not called her a whore in front of the entire wedding party." She protested. "Benedick was ready to kill his best friend because Beatrice asked it, that I think is more of a true love that Claudio."

"But they only fell in love because of a 'he said she said' type thing. It wasn't any more real." He pointed out.

"Yes it was!" She was fired up now, giving him all her attention to get her point across. "Beatrice loved him before she met him, that's why she picked on him. Same with Benedick. Their characters were appealing and when they did meet it was a conformation. But they were both too stubborn to admit it! All it took for them to admit it was hearing the others feelings from someone else and when it was revealed in the end that neither said anything about love before, they still had to admit how they felt."

He wondered how many books she felt this way about, but he couldn't stay in the common room all day discussing it, as much as he wanted to. He smiled at her and raised his hands in defeat. "You win. Beatrice and Benedick were way more in love than Claudio and Hero."

She smiled triumphantly. Then the triumph went away melting into a genuine small smile. A sheepish one. "You know, I never got to discuss this with anyone. Harry and Ron don't much care for books, so they aren't really up to debating the finer points of Shakespeare. Its kind of nice...talking about it with someone." She admitted.

He smirked. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Blaise likes books but he's been – preoccupied – since he and Ginerva got together. And Potter isn't much one for book discussions, like you said. I guess this summer wouldn't have been so bad if we had talked more." He immediately wished he hadn't said that but it was so easy to talk to her, especially like this – especially after that dream. He couldn't take it back though, and he didn't really want to.

"I would've like it." She said, blushing. "I- I should go. Harry and Ron should be in the Great Hall by now.

He nodded and stood as she got up off the couch. "Do me a favor, will you?" He asked, looking at her cautiously, unsure how far he should push this new-found camaraderie.

"Certainly." She agreed.

"Be careful. You-Know-Who has a lot of spies here at Hogwarts and I wouldn't be surprised if they'll be after you." He told her, trying his best to control the emotions on his face.

"I will. You do the same." She turned to leave, but stopped in front of the portrait hole. She turned back and looked at him. "Do you have anyone to go to Hogsmeade with?" She asked.

"I'm not going," he answered honestly. "I have that Potions essay to finish for Slughorn before Monday."

She nodded and walked out of the dormitory. He fell back onto the couch and tried to slow his heartbeat.

He talked to her...civilly...and it was amazing. Better than his dreams. No snide comments back and forth. Not one insult. Just an honest to Merlin talk. He knew that he couldn't get closer to her, but damn, it was harder and harder to fight against it. Now that she insisted on being present. All thanks to Marianne. He knew he could never forgive her for doing this to him, but at the same time, he was eternally grateful. Maybe he would get to know Hermione before _He_ killed him.

No, Draco did not expect to survive the war. Another reason to keep Hermione at a distance. To spare her. His selfishness could destroy them both.

Not too long after Hermione left, Lupin entered the Heads' dorm, complete with Invisibility Cloak.

"Is Hermione gone?" Lupin asked.

Draco nodded. "She went to meet Potter and Weasley." He responded.

"Good," Lupin said. "Does she know what you're doing?"

"No. I told her I was doing an essay." He said honestly. "I can't get into the girl's side, you realize?"

Lupin nodded. "Of course. Just search the boy's dorms. We'll have Pansy do the girl's side next Hogsmeade weekend." Draco shrugged. It was still strange to think that Pansy was in the Order now. Pansy, Blaise, and himself were the only Slytherins not in the throng of You-Know-Who. Pansy and Blaise's families were in safe houses set up by the Order. It had been the happiest day of his life when he realized he wouldn't be alone in the Order, but became less so when Blaise began dating the Weaselette...hum, hum...Ginerva. Then Pansy suddenly became very introverted and wasn't prone to talking much. "Be careful, Draco. Professor Dumbledore doesn't want you to take any unnecessary risks and neither do I."

"Aw, I didn't know you cared, Professor." Draco put his hand on his chest in mock surprise.

"Ha ha ha, Draco. Go now, while everyone is at breakfast." Draco nodded and wrapped the cloak around his shoulders.

* * *

Hermione walked down the corridor from the Heads' dormitory and silently recalled her dream. She'd been wearing the outfit she had on in it, and when she found it on her dresser this morning, she realized she must have set it out the night before. Draco had been so charming and amazing in it. He had recited her favorite sonnet.

But it was the kiss that surprised her the most. How much she had enjoyed it. It was the most electrifying feeling in the entire world, kissing him. Even though it was a dream. She hadn't expected to like it or for it to even happen. She supposed that the dream had merely been a side effect of her realizations about her roommate. When she saw him bustling out of his room, his disheveled appearance gracing the common room, she had expected him to be back to his usual snarky self, that or back to his silent one. Instead, she was pleasantly surprised to have a real discussion with him about her favorite Shakespeare play. And, she realized just how handsome he was. When she first saw him exit his room, her mind noted how sexy he looked with his bare chest showing beneath his button-down shirt and the slightly messed appearance of his platinum blond hair – which was oddly enough, cut in a way that she found most attractive on men, with the top long enough to touch their ears and the underside cut short to the scalp. **(A/N: Think like Zach's hair in _Saved By The Bell_. I think its a hott hairstyle) **

She never expected to fancy him, but she did. The last week had given her musings room to grow into a genuine fancy for the boy that once was her tormentor. Damn him. It wasn't his fault, but in a way it was. She couldn't fancy him! Especially since he would never fancy her back! He was in love with some unknown mystery girl and she wouldn't want him to give up that love for her.

Merlin! When did life get so complicated? Oh yeah, when she accidentally eves dropped on that damnable conversation that made her fancy him and realize she couldn't be with him all at the same moment. Its not right! Its not fair!

She found herself in the entrance to the Great Hall more quickly than she had expected and wanted to wait a few more moments before seeing Harry or Ron. So, she sank against a wall and thought how she could possibly forget about Draco Malfoy.

"Hermione?" A familiar voice said unsurely from above her. Hermione looked up and saw Marianne Dantes there, her light copper blond hair was up in a high ponytail. Her make up was subtle hues of gold around her blue eyes and stand-out red lipstick that contrasted beautifully with her pale complexion. She wore a pair of boot-cut, dark wash jeans and a white, asymmetrical blouse that had one long sleeve that was tight on the forearm and flowed into the rest of the shirt. The other side had no sleeve at all, the neck just wrapped around her armpit and back. The shirt was flowing and made of a satin-like material with gold trim around the neck. For shoes, she wore a pair of simple, white foam flip flops. Hermione wondered how she could look so effortless but so alarming at the same time. Maybe she could take lessons? "Are you alright?"

Hermione stood, straightening her dress. "Of course. Just thinking." She responded honestly. "Who are you going to the village with?" she asked.

"I was actually going to see if Draco wanted to, but he told Blaise he had an essay to finish." Marianne replied.

Hermione nodded. "He told me the same." She told her. "Do you want to come with us?"

Marianne smiled. "That would be nice. I didn't really want to stay in the castle today."

"I understand." Hermione giggled. "Well, we should see if Harry and Ron are ready."

At the mention of their names, Marianne's mood seemed to darken.

"Is something wrong?" Hermione asked.

Marianne shook her head. "No, I just don't think Weasley likes me very much." She said honestly.

"Nonsense. If Ronald has a problem, its his alone." Hermione insisted and she looked at the doors. Harry saw them and instantly smiled, walking over in his baggy jeans and oversized long-sleeved blue t-shirt. Hermione noted that he was taking in Marianne's appearance and his eyes seemed to sparkle. Could it be that Harry fancied Marianne?

"Good morning, 'Mione." Harry said, giving her a one armed hug. "Hi, Marianne. Are you coming with us today?"

"If its okay with you," she replied.

"Of course! Its perfect." Hermione definitely saw the sparkle that time. He did fancy her!

Ron was walking over, but with a very different expression. He wasn't happy at all. Hermione saw the animosity in his blue eyes, he was going to make today hell. Like they didn't have enough to deal with.

"What is that doing here?" He growled at Hermione.

"_That_? What _that_?" She asked.

Ron pointed to Marianne in disgust. Harry let go of Hermione instantly and stepped between Marianne and Ron.

"Marianne is coming with us today, Ron." Harry said in a voice that he'd never heard him use with Ron before. It was one that he usually reserved for Death Eaters or You-Know-Who. It was a voice that said he was the most powerful one here and if you crossed him, he'd use it.

Ron silenced himself instantly and Harry took Marianne's arm in his before leading the way towards the village.

_This is going to be an interesting year,_ Hermione thought as they left the castle.

* * *

_Attention: Finally I got chapter 2 out! Whats sad is I have it all planned out in my head until their out of Hogwarts, its just getting the stupid thing on paper...or well, computer. Please review! I welcome any plot ideas! And did anyone else pick up on the fact that Benedick and Beatrice sound an awful lot like another certain couple?  
_

REVIEW!


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